The courtroom, Qo'noS, 2375

Trial Day 5

"My own interrogation went much as Kroll's did," Grenn told the court. "The brigadier asked a lot of questions about what had happened and as I told you, I answered as best I could, up to the point where he demanded to know what I had heard."

The judge directed a hard stare at Grenn. "And that was when you lied?"

"Yes, it was," Grenn said. "At that point, I didn't trust anyone and I was not sure of where Brigadier Koreth's loyalties lay. He was honourable but at the time I couldn't know that. Whatever I heard the lady say to Karg, I did not want to repeat it to anyone but the security captain. He was a good boss and I wasn't about to be part of any betrayal." He shrugged. "To be honest, I didn't really understand it all – there was a load of stuff about the Federation and the Enterprise and after that, Karg turned really nasty. He'd cut her clothes open and he was hitting her and… then he sexually assaulted her and made her confess to…" He stopped, giving Chrissie an apologetic look. "…to being a… resistance whore. I was still trying to process what it all meant and what I should do about it, so when Koreth questioned me, I just denied everything and lied about my ability to speak English."

"And did he believe you?"

The old man shook his head. "No, not in the slightest. He made it clear that he knew I was lying. I pointed out that although I could understand the language when it was spoken slowly and clearly, her speech was anything but clear and I was not fluent enough to follow it. I was lying and he knew it but there was no proof, and despite the threat of punishment, I stuck to my story and in the end, he let it go."

Klingon Headquarters, London

Saturday 29th January 1994

Koreth bit back an annoyed growl. The soldier was lying and he knew it, even if he could not prove it. He did not understand. It couldn't really be about a cup of coffee or an extra break – could it? For Kroll, he suspected, it was exactly that. Quid pro quo… The guard had got something out of it and had done something in return. With this one, it was something more. Grenn had been willing to risk his life for Chrissie. "Why?" He did not realise he had spoken the word aloud until Grenn gave him a puzzled look.

"Sir?"

"Why?" Koreth asked again, deciding that he really did want to know. "How did this Tera'ngan woman earn your loyalty?"

Grenn was silent for a moment, wondering how much trouble this question was going to get him into. His loyalty was supposed to be to his squad leader, the Defence Force, and the empire, not to some enemy female. And that was just it, he realised, she might belong to a subjugated race but she was not his enemy. Now if he could only explain that without getting himself killed… "I am not sure how to explain it, sir," he said honestly. "When I go about my duties, walk in the street, go into a shop, the humans are afraid of me. They look on us with anger and hate and I suppose from their point of view they have good reasons for that. Oh, they hide it well, they wouldn't dare show it openly. But it's there."

That was true enough. Koreth nodded, acknowledging the accuracy of the bekk's observations. "Go on."

"When I first met the lady…" Unsure of the alien name, he did not know what to call her, but as the mate of the big boss, the title seemed appropriate. "… She was angry and frightened but not… not at us, not at the occupation. Her children were missing and she was absolutely terrified for their safety. She didn't seem to care that she was shouting at a Klingon, she just wanted to find them. We were in security lockdown and had orders not to allow anyone in so I had to turn her away. When she came back, she seemed surprised to see me and she expressed concern that I'd been standing outside all day in the snow. She didn't see an enemy Klingon, an alien oppressor. Sir, she was genuinely worried that I was cold."

Koreth nodded thoughtfully as he listened. Grenn's motives were not so different to his own. He too had benefitted from her compassion and had paid that back by destroying the recording device. "So, you do not believe that she was a criminal? Or working for the resistance?"

"No, sir, I don't" Grenn said emphatically. "There's no hatred in her, no resentment, no anger. There is absolutely no way that she is a resistance spy and Karg had no right to touch her!" He stopped in horror as he realised what he had just done. It was not a bekk's place to criticise or be disrespectful of an officer, let alone one as senior as Karg, even if said officer was in the wrong. "I… should not have said that, sir."

"No," Koreth agreed, "You should not. But do you stand by it?"

Grenn sighed. "Yes, sir. I do."

Interesting, Koreth thought. He was beginning to see what Kroll had meant about trying to keep this one out of trouble. Grenn was young and a little too impulsive, but also loyal to a fault. He might just have a use for him. First though, he wanted the rest of the story. "So, when she begged you for help, what did you do?"

"Kroll gave me an excuse to leave my post," Grenn said. "I took the opportunity and went outside. I didn't really know what to do; the colonel had a lot of support and I wasn't sure whom I could trust. Lieutenant Marla was there - I think she'd just materialised - and in the end, I decided to speak to her."

"What made you think that Marla was trustworthy?"

Grenn thought about the question. "Sir, she is Lieutenant Kay'vin's girlfriend and rumour has it they'll take the oath soon. Everyone knows he would die for the boss and I took a chance on her sharing his loyalties."

"Hmmm," Koreth grunted. "On the whole, you did well. Tell me, bekk, do you have a pilot's licence?"

The praise, followed by the unexpected question, caught Grenn by surprise. "Um… yes, sir. I do."

"Good." The brigadier nodded. "That will be useful. Very well, Grenn, you are to return to your quarters and pack your things. I am transferring you to France with immediate effect."

"To… France, sir?" That was the last thing Grenn had expected to hear. "I don't speak that language, sir. I am not sure I will be of much use to you over there."

"Oh yes you will." Unexpectedly, Koreth smiled. "You are being assigned as Chrissie's personal guard. A shuttle will be allocated for your use and you will escort her, act as her pilot, and ensure her safety. You will follow any instructions given you by the security captain and will answer only to him. When your services are not required, you will join the guard force on duty at their house. Can I trust you with this duty?"

Vulcan Ship Vesaya

Sunday 30th January 1994

Returning to Vesaya with his passengers, Solkar had a lot to think about. As the security captain had promised, the Klingons had not interfered or given any indication that they were aware of his shuttle descending through the atmosphere and landing on the American continent, right in the middle of one of the residential suburbs of the city of Boston.

Walking on the surface of Earth had been an interesting if confusing experience and one that he hoped to repeat in the future. He'd dressed warmly in the style of the local area, which at this time of year meant replacing his robes with a jumper and faded blue jeans. A heavy coat with a fur-lined hood, that thankfully was not real fur and had the added bonus of concealing his ears, completed the ensemble.

The atmosphere was oxygen rich if slightly polluted, although to someone accustomed to the heat of Vulcan, it was uncomfortably cold. It was winter in this part of the world, he remembered, hence the icy, white precipitation covering the ground, the treetops and the rooves of the nearby buildings. In a very odd way, he found it beautiful.

Solkar had never experienced snow before. Removing a glove, he bent to touch the snow, running his fingers through it, lifting a little into his hand and savouring its cold, crystalline yet powdery texture. He watched with interest as it melted into droplets that slipped between his fingers and dripped back to the ground. How fascinating!

The retrieval of the stranded Vulcans had not gone as expected. Of the three Vulcan life-signs detected in Boston, only two had returned with him to Vesaya. The third had elected to remain on Earth to continue his observation of human development. Nothing was said but Solkar suspected that he had taken a human bondmate and simply did not wish to leave what had become his home. Certainly, the data he could provide would be of great interest to the Vulcan Xeno-Anthropology Department.

As for the fourth and final Vulcan, the one detected in Carbon Creek… Solkar allowed himself a slight frown. He was going to have to discuss that one with his captain – very carefully.

Deciding that it would not be a good idea to approach the unknown Vulcan openly, he'd landed a short distance away from the address indicated by the Enterprise's scans and leaving his passengers to wait inside the shuttle, he'd set off on foot to his final destination. The sleek, elegantly designed Vulcan shuttle looked nothing like the blocky, militaristic ones used by the Klingons but the local people did not seem to notice the difference and kept their distance from it. Carbon Creek was a small town, of no strategic importance to the occupying forces and it was possible that these people had never actually encountered a Klingon. That was good; it would keep them away from his vessel.

Nobody bothered Solkar as he walked through the streets and he quickly reached the coordinates he had been given. The house looked exactly like every other house in the street, with nothing to distinguish it from its neighbours other than the number on its door and… a sculpture in the window that was all too familiar to Solkar.

Raising a hand, Solkar knocked on the door, then stepped back waiting. Light footsteps approached and the door swung open to reveal a boy that, not proficient with the growth rate of human children, Solkar estimated to be around ten Terran years old. The two stared at each other for a moment before the boy turned and dashed back into the house, yelling at the top of his voice. "Grampa! Grampa! There's a man outside and he looks like you!"

Solkar raised an eyebrow; the boy's reaction indicated that he was at the correct address. He had done his research before coming here and he was aware of the crash of the survey ship just over thirty-six years ago, an incident that had claimed the lives of two of its crew – or at least, that was what the survivors had claimed when they were rescued. While it was by no means certain, the odds were high that he was about to meet one of those two supposedly dead Vulcans.

He was proved right. An older Vulcan male appeared in the hallway and Solkar recognised him from the images in Vesaya's logs. Seeing the enquiring look on the other man's face, he introduced himself. "I am Solkar, first officer of the survey ship Vesaya. I believe that you are Mestral."

The other Vulcan did not reply immediately and Solkar had the distinct impression he was wondering whether or not to lie. Eventually, he nodded. "I am Mestral. What do you want with me?"

"With the permission of the Klingons," Solkar explained, "I am here to retrieve any Vulcan personnel who are stranded here and wish to return to their homes."

Mestral's brow furrowed. "I had asked T'Mir to report me as having died when our ship crashed."

"She did as you requested," Solkar reassured the older Vulcan. "We detected an extra life-sign when scanning for our missing survey team and came here to investigate. May I assume then, that you have not changed your mind? That you do not wish to return to Vulcan?"

"You are correct," Mestral said. "I have built a life here on Earth. I have a family and children, albeit adopted and long since grown to adulthood and with children of their own. I have a purpose here and I do not wish to leave."

Solkar nodded, finding that he understood. He had been on this planet a very short period of time and already he felt the urge to stay and learn more. "What will you do?"

"I will stay here long enough to see my grandson grow up," Mestral told him, "and then I will move on before people begin to notice that I do not age as they do. It may be that one day I will choose to make contact with Vulcan and on that day, I will pass on all that I have learned."

There was no reason for him to stay longer, Solkar realised. He raised his hand, palm outward and fingers spread open in the traditional gesture of his people. "Dif-tor heh smusma. Goodbye Mestral. Live long and prosper."

Mestral returned the ta'al. It was very likely, he thought with some regret, that this was the last time he would ever speak his own language with a fellow Vulcan. "Sochya eh dif, Solkar, Peace and long life."

Forty-three minutes later, with the shuttle back in its place in Vesaya's tiny shuttlebay and both of the rescued Vulcans dealt, Solkar was standing in his captain's office, giving his report.

Vesaya's captain listened impassively to his first officer. "And the final life-sign?"

"I recommend that it be dismissed as an error, sir." Solkar worded his response carefully, attempting to avoid an outright lie. "There are no Vulcan citizens in Carbon Creek."

The faint emphasis on the word 'citizens' told Sevek everything he needed to know. The unknown Vulcan had chosen citizenship of Earth and as such was no longer Vesaya's responsibility. "I see. No doubt it was simply a sensor ghost." As a logical being, he did not believe in ghosts, but the word seemed appropriate. "I will log it as…"

He was interrupted by the voice of his tactical officer over the comm. system. "Captain, long range sensors have detected a ship approaching the Sol system."

"Klingon?" Sevek asked tersely.

"Yes, sir," T'Lin responded. The faintest trace of what in any other species, Sevek would have described as excitement entered her voice as she continued, "We have also picked up traces of a chroniton burst."

T'Lin's emotional response was both justified and contagious. Solkar found his heart rate accelerating. Chronitons! The implications were staggering. Time travel was not only possible but they were witnessing it happen! As the captain of the Enterprise had claimed, the Klingons on Earth were not from this time.

We are slowly getting there. Almost all the chess pieces are in place for the next stage of the story. Big thank you to Solasnagreine for helping. Thanks also to JDC0 and RobertBruceScott. I promise I am not dragging it out unnecessarily, each scene is there for a purpose.

Mestral is of course, a canon character, from the Enterprise episode 'Carbon Creek'.